Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
Hi, I'm new to gardening but trying to learn. I bought begonias as plug plants this year & have been really pleased with the enormous flowers we had. I grew them in pots because I was worried about slugs & the plants were much bigger than I expected. Anyway, they were still in bloom when the first frost struck so that's that. I think I have read about being able to save the plants (in a frost free place) & then grow them again next year. Is that right or have I got to throw away & buy new plants next year?
|
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
On second thoughts, if it was only a light frost, and they are the type overwintered as a corm, then you might still have a chance.
|
#4
|
|||
|
|||
I light frost it wasn't. Corms? I don't know. Presumably if I dig one up I will find that there is / isn't a corm/tuber. Thanks for the answer, at least I learned something.
|
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
hope this helps, best wishes Lannerman |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
"FiveMins" wrote Hi, I'm new to gardening but trying to learn. I bought begonias as plug plants this year & have been really pleased with the enormous flowers we had. I grew them in pots because I was worried about slugs & the plants were much bigger than I expected. Anyway, they were still in bloom when the first frost struck so that's that. I think I have read about being able to save the plants (in a frost free place) & then grow them again next year. Is that right or have I got to throw away & buy new plants next year? Depends what sort of Begonias they were. If fibrous rooted then they are finished if tuberous then they may still survive the winter if put in a frost free place and not watered at all over winter. Mine are still outside and seemed to come to no harm in the last two nights of frost but they are up near the house. What I do is once the top growth is all dead I clean up the pots and place them on their side on the bottom shelf of our little heated greenhouse and leave them there until the new year. Then, about February time, I repot the tubers in new compost and again leave them without water. Just cover the tubers with compost. Once they start into growth, little green buds begin to break the surface, I start to water, very sparingly at first, and over the next couple of weeks as the plants grow further I increase the watering until they are in full growth. -- Regards Bob Hobden W.of London. UK |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
On Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:08:11 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote: "FiveMins" wrote Hi, I'm new to gardening but trying to learn. I bought begonias as plug plants this year & have been really pleased with the enormous flowers we had. I grew them in pots because I was worried about slugs & the plants were much bigger than I expected. Anyway, they were still in bloom when the first frost struck so that's that. I think I have read about being able to save the plants (in a frost free place) & then grow them again next year. Is that right or have I got to throw away & buy new plants next year? Depends what sort of Begonias they were. If fibrous rooted then they are finished if tuberous then they may still survive the winter if put in a frost free place and not watered at all over winter. Mine are still outside and seemed to come to no harm in the last two nights of frost but they are up near the house. What I do is once the top growth is all dead I clean up the pots and place them on their side on the bottom shelf of our little heated greenhouse and leave them there until the new year. Then, about February time, I repot the tubers in new compost and again leave them without water. Just cover the tubers with compost. Once they start into growth, little green buds begin to break the surface, I start to water, very sparingly at first, and over the next couple of weeks as the plants grow further I increase the watering until they are in full growth. BUT if they are the tuber-forming type, check the tubers before storage for vine weevil grubs. In one pot of mine, one corm was just a hollow shell, and the soil was thick with them. Be sure you are storing clean, healthy tubers. Pam in Bristol |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
On 22/10/2010 08:06, FiveMins wrote:
It's really great to get so much advice offered, thanks. I am just south of Manchester, near Macclesfield, so I don't know how the frost we experienced compared to London etc. I have cut off all the growth that was killed by the frost& the remaining plants seem to be still 'OK'. I am going to take the advice& let my plants dry out& if I find that I have got tubers then I can look after them as suggested. Much colder down in the South than in Manchester. Apparently down to -2.6°C in London, and around -5 or -6 a few miles north. Anyway, one short frost is unlikely to see a decent tuber off. If you have healthy tubers, there's no reason why they shouldn't survive if kept frost-free and dry over winter. -- Jeff |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
"FiveMins" wrote 'Pam Moore Wrote: "Bob Hobden" wrote: "FiveMins" wrote - Hi, I'm new to gardening but trying to learn. I bought begonias as plug plants this year & have been really pleased with the enormous flowers we had. I grew them in pots because I was worried about slugs & the plants were much bigger than I expected. Anyway, they were still in bloom when the first frost struck so that's that. I think I have read about being able to save the plants (in a frost free place) & then grow them again next year. Is that right or have I got to throw away & buy new plants next year? - Depends what sort of Begonias they were. If fibrous rooted then they are finished if tuberous then they may still survive the winter if put in a frost free place and not watered at all over winter. Mine are still outside and seemed to come to no harm in the last two nights of frost but they are up near the house. What I do is once the top growth is all dead I clean up the pots and place them on their side on the bottom shelf of our little heated greenhouse and leave them there until the new year. Then, about February time, I repot the tubers in new compost and again leave them without water. Just cover the tubers with compost. Once they start into growth, little green buds begin to break the surface, I start to water, very sparingly at first, and over the next couple of weeks as the plants grow further I increase the watering until they are in full growth.- BUT if they are the tuber-forming type, check the tubers before storage for vine weevil grubs. In one pot of mine, one corm was just a hollow shell, and the soil was thick with them. Be sure you are storing clean, healthy tubers. Pam in Bristol It's really great to get so much advice offered, thanks. I am just south of Manchester, near Macclesfield, so I don't know how the frost we experienced compared to London etc. I have cut off all the growth that was killed by the frost & the remaining plants seem to be still 'OK'. I am going to take the advice & let my plants dry out & if I find that I have got tubers then I can look after them as suggested. That's what this Newsgroup is for, passing on experiences/knowledge. I think the recent frosts down here were, for once, worse than yours. Anyway, now you are an expert on Begonias perhaps you would like to try some of these.... :-) http://www.blackmore-langdon.com/cat...ype=Exhibition Begonias -- Regards Bob Hobden W.of London. UK |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
In message , Sacha
writes On 2010-10-22 10:22:47 +0100, stuart noble said: On 22/10/2010 08:06, FiveMins wrote: snip It's really great to get so much advice offered, thanks. I am just south of Manchester, near Macclesfield, so I don't know how the frost we experienced compared to London etc. I have cut off all the growth that was killed by the frost& the remaining plants seem to be still 'OK'. I am going to take the advice& let my plants dry out& if I find that I have got tubers then I can look after them as suggested. IME one overnight frost doesn't suddenly kill everything, especially if it's followed by a sunny day. Some gardens just down the hill from us have turned black overnight, apparently. One light frost was enough to see off the top growth of a batch of Dahlias on the allotment site. And several rows of runner beans are looking unhappy. (My one tomato plant hasn't turned black, but it was looking unhappy even before there was a frost.) -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
Some gardens just down the hill from us have turned black overnight, apparently. One light frost was enough to see off the top growth of a batch of Dahlias on the allotment site. And several rows of runner beans are looking unhappy. (My one tomato plant hasn't turned black, but it was looking unhappy even before there was a frost.) The nasturtiums and sweet potatoes on the allotment, plus the courgettes/ pumpkins/squash plants have all turned into gooey mush. :-( |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
On 24/10/2010 14:04, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , Sacha writes On 2010-10-22 10:22:47 +0100, stuart noble said: On 22/10/2010 08:06, FiveMins wrote: snip It's really great to get so much advice offered, thanks. I am just south of Manchester, near Macclesfield, so I don't know how the frost we experienced compared to London etc. I have cut off all the growth that was killed by the frost& the remaining plants seem to be still 'OK'. I am going to take the advice& let my plants dry out& if I find that I have got tubers then I can look after them as suggested. IME one overnight frost doesn't suddenly kill everything, especially if it's followed by a sunny day. Some gardens just down the hill from us have turned black overnight, apparently. One light frost was enough to see off the top growth of a batch of Dahlias on the allotment site. And several rows of runner beans are looking unhappy. (My one tomato plant hasn't turned black, but it was looking unhappy even before there was a frost.) My outdoor tomato plants have now all gone over looking miserable. I plan to treat the begonias the same as last year. Allow the top growth to wilt, then put the pots in a shed until the top has died off completely then remove the bulb part (corm? rhizome? I never can remember what it is called) clean off all lose compost and wrap it in newspaper and keep it over Winter in a cool dry place. In late Spring it should be starting to put out some new shoots when unwrapped. I don't know if the above is the best way to keep them from one year to the next, but it worked for me last year to this. -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Saving begonias
"Stewart Robert Hinsley" wrote One light frost was enough to see off the top growth of a batch of Dahlias on the allotment site. And several rows of runner beans are looking unhappy. (My one tomato plant hasn't turned black, but it was looking unhappy even before there was a frost.) We got our last Chillies up this week before the serious frost killed everything tender. It's all now in the compost bin and the ground has already been dug, tidy for the winter. -- Regards Bob Hobden W.of London. UK |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Tuberless Begonias | Gardening | |||
Something in my yard loves begonias.. | Gardening | |||
begonias | Gardening | |||
growing begonias | United Kingdom | |||
Begonias | United Kingdom |